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Print Binding and Finishing Workers

Bind books and other publications or finish printed products by hand or machine. May set up binding and finishing machines.

What you’d do

  • Examine stitched, collated, bound, or unbound product samples for defects, such as imperfect bindings, ink spots, torn pages, loose pages, or loose or uncut threads.
  • Read work orders to determine instructions and specifications for machine set-up.
  • Install or adjust bindery machine devices, such as knives, guides, rollers, rounding forms, creasing rams, or clamps, to accommodate sheets, signatures, or books of specified sizes.
  • Trim edges of books to size, using cutting machines, book trimming machines, or hand cutters.
  • Stitch or glue endpapers, bindings, backings, or signatures, using sewing machines, glue machines, or glue and brushes.
  • Monitor machine operations to detect malfunctions or to determine whether adjustments are needed.
  • Maintain records, such as daily production records, using specified forms.
  • Lubricate, clean, or make minor repairs to machine parts to keep machines in working condition.

Skills that matter

  • Operations Monitoring
  • Critical Thinking
  • Judgment and Decision Making
  • Monitoring
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Complex Problem Solving

How to get there

Little to some preparation: usually a high school diploma or GED, though some jobs do not need one

Also called

  • Binder Operator
  • Bindery Operator
  • Bindery Worker
  • Book Binder
  • Bindery Technician
  • Custom Bookbinder

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